Defense begins case in Bulger trial

BOSTON (AP) — Defense lawyers began calling witnesses today in the racketeering trial of James “Whitey” Bulger, who is charged with playing a role in 19 murders during the 1970s and ’80s when authorities say he ran the Winter Hill Gang.

Bulger’s attorneys filed a motion late Sunday seeking to have the jury sequestered once deliberations start.

The defense claims some news coverage has characterized the defendant in an “extremely prejudicial manner.”

Bulger’s lawyers began presenting witnesses today. Defense lawyer J.W. Carney Jr. would not say whether Bulger, 83, will take the stand in his own defense.

Prosecutors rested their case Friday after calling 63 witnesses.

who described in sometimes gruesome detail Bulger’s alleged role in the killings, a string of extortions and other crimes.

LONDON (AP) — London firefighters say they have freed hundreds of people with body parts trapped in household objects in the last three years, including 18 children with heads stuck in potties or toilet seats and 79 people trapped in handcuffs.

The London Fire Brigade speculated that the popularity of erotic novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” may account for a rise in handcuffs incide